Harry Potter and the Agent of Death
by Tallictr
Summary: Sent to the year 1970, I wait patiently until the time comes for me to follow Death's instructions; therefore preventing the downfall of the wizarding world. Until that day arrives, however, I must find ways to occupy my time. And what could be more time consuming than involving myself in the lives and deaths of those around me?
1. Chapter 1

Waking up in the aftermath of a massacre was not how I had wanted to begin my second life. I was buried beneath what I had hoped _wasn't_ a pile of dead bodies, but the lifeless faces that greeted me as I opened my eyes proved otherwise.

From the sudden popping noises and the following eerie silence, I could discern that whatever battle that had taken place was over. And that those popping sounds were the Death Eaters leaving.

If what I knew about this time period Death sent me to was right, then the place I'm about to see once I crawl out from under this pile of people would be the site of the very first attack on the British wizarding world by Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Which meant that the second set of popping noises came from the Aurors that were arriving just seconds after Voldemort's people had already left.


	2. Chapter 2

Hearing the gasps of shock and horror really put this whole war into perspective. It wasn't often that I thought of how there was an entire history and culture that preceded the war with Voldemort.

Before 1970, when Voldemort's Death Eaters began publicly attacking their enemies, witches and wizards and the rest of the magical community shared a long and difficult history with one another.

A history that played a large role in the war, but was never seriously taken into account when the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix tried to come up with countermeasures.

But the history lesson could wait for later. Right now, I needed to make my way away from the dead bodies, something that was a lot harder than you might think. Especially when taking into account that I am at the bottom of the unsurprisingly heavy pile.


	3. Chapter 3

I could hear bits and pieces of conversations as I pushed and shoved my way past body after body.

There were several Aurors who had lost their lunches, some who were sobbing out loud because nothing can really prepare you for a massacre of the innocent, and a few who were desperately searching other apparent piles of bodies for survivors.

As I kept up my tiresome efforts, the moonlight let me know I was close to escaping, I couldn't help but wonder why the Death Eaters put their victims into piles. It just didn't make much sense.

I knew somewhere deep inside that I was supposed to be like those Aurors. Shocked, sick to my stomach, sad to the point of tears. And yet…I wasn't.

I didn't feel much of anything. I knew it was something to be sad about, but the most I could feel was a sense of regret at not being able to arrive sooner to try and help them. Other than that, it was just me being the calculative guy I always was.

I mean, sure, I felt emotions _most_ of the time. I could be happy, sad, angry, and so on…but not always.

There were moments when I just disconnected from the empathetic part of my brain. Moments where I would mentally flip a switch and feel nothing about anything. Like now.

"…huh." I wonder how long I've been standing up here.


	4. Chapter 4

The Aurors hadn't noticed me at first, I could understand that much.

I could understand because it was only after I said "…huh." that several dozen heads and wands snapped up in my direction. It was quite unnerving to have that many wands pointed at me.

But one of them must have noticed that not only was I not pointing a wand at them, it was still safely in my jacket pocket, but I was covered in fresh blood. The bodies I was buried under were still fresh and still capable of bleeding all over me.

A woman standing in front of them, probably someone high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE), yelled out to me. "Who are you? Did you…did you _kill_ these people!?"

She sounded angry. Not surprising, but not exactly what I wanted to hear from someone who could easily have thirty people send an assortment of cutting, stunning, and various other spells at me all at the same time.

I tried to think of what to say, but a shout and a red beam of light coming from my right. The world started to turn dark as I tumbled down the large pile of bodies and onto the hard ground below.

And just as I felt the darkness consume me, I swore that the same woman was shouting at me again. Which would make sense, considering my last conscious act was to apparate as far away from that street and those Aurors as I could.

Fortunately, I apparated to the only place I could think of. And the one place I needed to be.


	5. Chapter 5

The Department of Mysteries. I managed to apparate there and remain undetected in my unconscious state until I finally regained consciousness.

As I picked myself up off the ground, I looked around the room. From the mental map I had of the place, I knew where each of the chambers were. Though I was only interested in the Love Chamber, Death Chamber, and the Time Room.

The Space Chamber, Brain Room, and Hall of Prophecies would all have to wait until my next visit.

First up was the Love Chamber where I would steal all the Amortentia this place had to offer. My mission from Death required me to have and use every tool available to me at my disposal, and an almost perfect love potion, give or take a few easily fixable issues, would be a major boon to my efforts.

A few extra ingredients and the effects would be permanent, rather than temporary. It would still make the one who drank it obsessive about their object of affection, but I didn't mind having someone like that. In fact, I preferred it.

Then I'd go to the Time Room where I would gather several Time Turners those careless fools destroy so many years from now and instead put them to good use. There was no sense in letting them just sit in the dark to rot.

Following that, I'd make my leave. It was a pretty solid plan, all in all. The only issue was that there were things I'd need to do later on that required me to return that I'd really rather do _today_.

But, oh well. What else can I do except follow the plan and wait for the right moment to be upon me?


	6. Not a Chapter

The chapters of this story will be shorter than what you'd normally see in my other stories but will also be posted much more frequently. I'm trying out a new writing style and I'm liking it so far.

I'm not sure how good this story is compared to my other ones but I figured that writing a story like this would be more fun than what I do with the others. Combing through paragraph after paragraph each chapter until it finally just begins to blend together into one big jumble. Ugh.

In this story, each chapter can be fully written with the inspiration that usually only lasts maybe less than halfway into one that is two thousand words long compared to the shorter two hundred.

Anyway, let me know through PM or leave a comment on what you think. Happy reading and I'll see you guys and gals next time.


	7. Chapter 6

The plan was a rousing success…in the aspect where I didn't die immediately after being discovered.

After gathering the materials I sought, I found myself surrounded by Unspeakables who looked very pissed off for some reason. And asking them only made them angrier.

It probably had something to do with the fact that when they found me walking outside the Death Room, I was whistling a happy little tune as if I hadn't a care in the world. But some particularly mean looking wand movements had me leaping into action.

Though now that I'm saying it out loud, I'm not sure if hauling ass back into the Death Chamber and quickly apparating away would count as 'leaping into action'.

It seems that my friend Death left out the part where when I apparate in and out of warded buildings, I do so as if I was brute forcing my way in. A process that immediately alerted the witch and/or wizard(s) that put it up.

As well as make it feel as though I've forced my way through the world's smallest hole.

The good thing that came out of all this was that the Aurors had no idea where I was when I first broke in nor where I was after I left. Because when I smashed through their warding, I bypassed all the usual magical trackers that would have attached themselves to me.

Death was right. Being alive again really _was_ fun. Guess I owe him that Galleon after all.


	8. Chapter 7

As I had suspected, number 5 Privet Drive was everything I'd thought it would be. Absolutely terrible.

Even hundreds of years later, the houses muggles lived in were still heartbreaking to look at. The house itself was unkempt, the grass surrounding it was a sickly yellow, and it was smaller on the inside than it was on the outside!

Thankfully, I anticipated this being the hovel it turned out to be.

Magic was a hell of a thing when it came to cleaning. And as someone who has lived both as a slave and a man of wealth, I've come to appreciate this part of having magic. Why spend four hours cleaning half the castle when you could wave a wand and be done with it in a matter of minutes.

And while I still have reservations about not being able to stay in my family's ancestral home, the plan called for me to live here while I carried out its first phase.

But, I'm told they have something called 'air conditioning'. It kept the house cool and warm when made to do so, and supposedly without the use of magic. Something He thought I'd enjoy.

Though I remain skeptical because the last time someone said that to me, I almost ended up a father. Just thinking about it gives me chills.

16th century witches with an agenda were no joke.


	9. Chapter 8

Living in Little Whinging wasn't as bad as it could have been. In fact, I've been having the time of my life.

I'd been given explanation after explanation on how living in this time era would work. From the horseless carriages they call cars to the modern lifestyle that consisted of lazy men, women, and children who are ungrateful for the wonderful lives they lead.

All of it was so fascinating. So different from how I lived all those hundreds of years ago. And I loved every minute of it. From the moment I felt the cool air of the indoors to the harlots that introduced themselves to me in the street.

Life as a wizard amongst new age muggles was better than anything I'd ever experienced.

I think my favorite part about living in their world was the fact that I could do anything I pleased with little worry for retribution by other wizards or muggles.

The only one I truly feared was Death, and He cared not for my actions since becoming His agent meant abandoning any morals I may or may not have had in my old life.

I don't really know how to feel about that, mostly because the lines of right and wrong blur with time, but it's probably better for me not to in the long run. In my experience, morals have a pesky way of ruining fun and delaying results.


	10. Chapter 9

According to the plan, I would need to wait a few years before involving myself with anything having to do with the prophecy. That meant no speaking about it with anyone and no hinting at who the prophecy is about early on as doing so could result in my immediate recall to the afterlife.

I could, however, do as I please until the prophecy was made by Trelawney.

Though I wonder how it is that even hundreds of years after his death, Ralston Potter continues to be a pain in my ass. Him _and_ that damn wife of his.

Don't get me wrong, those two were the greatest friends I could ask for. Saved my ass a number of times from certain doom, but I wouldn't be lying if I said they were a handful the rest of the time.

Always fighting other people and with each other, always working people over to make a quick Galleon, and always dragging me into it when things went bad. Those two were the bane of my existence and their children were no better.

And it seems that not even their future descendants could manage to keep themselves out of trouble, either.

Seriously, how the hell does a _baby_ get straddled with a prophecy about taking out a Dark Lord. The Potter Family was truly an enigma. And one that somehow latched itself onto me and never let go.


	11. Chapter 10

I wonder what the chances of their great-great-great-great-great grandchildren knowing who I am are? But it wouldn't really matter if they didn't.

Because I don't care how many hundreds of years have passed, Joseph Bartholomew Hawthorne will always be indebted to the Potter Family. And as such, saving Fleamont and Euphemia from Dragon Pox would be the first thing I do.

And the key to doing so would be the perfected version of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor 's Dragon Pox cure I made.

Unfortunately, her cure only worked once per person. And even then, there was the possibility that it might not work at all.

Luckily, I had managed to perfect her work before I died. Unluckily, I was never able to publish it as any and all projects I'd been working on at the time were destroyed in the same explosion that killed me.

As far as I could see, it seemed only fair to the old me that it finally become published. From what I understand, no one's managed to do what I was able to.

I bet my formula could have saved countless lives…

Well, better late than never.


	12. Chapter 11

It is only now that I am about to put my plan to save them into motion that I realize that Fleamont and Euphemia wouldn't get Dragon Pox for another few years. Which meant that I got all determined for nothing.

Such. An. Idiot.

Sure, the plan hadn't changed except for the _when_ but it was still such an inconvenience for me to have to wait all that time.

I curse the day I invented a cure that needed to be taken when you got sick as opposed to before. I had created a treatment rather than a preventative. Something I had never expected to come back and bite me on the ass. At least not like this.

Anyway, I had nothing to do for the next six years. So, I dedicated an entire day to exploring the muggle world and trying to find something to occupy that time.

During my search I tried doing something I used to do in my old life. An activity that I found really cheered me up during my lowest points. I figured it'd be good to have some semblance of a normal routine again.

However, it _was_ surprising to me that prostitution was frowned upon and condemned in modern society. So much so that it was actually illegal and led to your immediate arrest and incarceration by muggle police.

 _My_ immediate arrest by muggle police.


	13. Chapter 12

Muggle jail cells weren't what they used to be. There're a lot less beatings, that was for sure. And they smelled much better without a drunk's day-old piss in the corner.

I waited until no one was looking before used wandless magic to fill the room with smoke, unlock the cell door, obliviate the guards, retrieve my wand, and apparate back to the alleyway they picked me up in.

It seems I would need to find a more legal way of obtaining the night of passion I sought. So, it was time to use my other method. Reading the minds of disgruntled married women and using that desperation to my advantage.

This was something that most wizards of my time did, and a surprising amount of witches as well, to muggle men and women. What can I say? We were opportunists.

And the social behavior of the 20th century was above and beyond anything that could be found in the 16th. That's 400 years of people and their ideals changing for the 'better'.

But not me. I skipped over all that and come from a time when the nicest you could be to a stranger was to not kill them with a disease you didn't know you had.


	14. Chapter 13

Searching through the information I had on the people of this time period, I tried finding a woman I could get in bed with that had ties to the people involved in the events surrounding Harry Potter's life.

I managed to narrow it down to three choices.

1) Eileen Prince: Severus Snape's (currently 11 years old) mother and pureblooded former heiress to the Prince Family fortune. Her abusive relationship with Tobias Snape makes her a prime candidate.

2) Bellatrix Lestrange (Black?): Follower of Voldemort and inner circle member. Her obsessive nature gives her potential. Whether or not she should be given a dose of Amortentia is unknown.

3) Rita Skeeter: Effective in information gathering. Unemployed and therefore the most attainable candidate. Loyal with incentive. She will most likely be dosed with Amortentia if her interests begin to shift elsewhere.

…Eh, screw it. All of them or none of them, it didn't really matter. In the end, as long as I do what I was sent here to do it'll work out as planned.

So, who should I start with?

It was November, so Severus would be at Hogwarts right now. His first year, if I remember correctly. Now would be a good time to do something with him currently away. However, she would need to be a long- term project.

Which means that it's between either Rita or Bellatrix. And considering that Rita sides with the highest bidder and Bellatrix's devotion to Voldemort grows by the second, Bellatrix is up first.


	15. Chapter 14

It took a few days of scouring every inch of Diagon Alley, which had gone through some profound changes since the last time I'd seen it, before I'd finally managed to find her.

And while I mostly kept out of sight, I made sure that at the very least no children were killed in any Death Eater appearances. It seems like it didn't really matter when or where I was, my soft spot for children would never leave me.

The only problem was that finding her wasn't as simple as spotting her in a crowd. I had to sit through three different attacks on the Alley before I saw her _and_ have an opportunity to make first contact with her.

When I _did_ run into her, she and some other Death Eaters were in the middle of fighting a group of wizards who were barely holding themselves together against an onslaught of spells.

Spells that looked inexplicably weaker than when I use them. Something to investigate sometime soon.

The group of people I assumed were Aurors consisted of Alastor Moody, Fleamont Potter, who I initially mistook for Ralston, and several other notable witches and wizards. All of whom I had no business being near this early in the war.

But still, I wouldn't give up on getting Bellatrix because of a minor obstacle like them. All I needed to do was to use a little finesse and I'd be out of there before any of them noticed.


	16. Chapter 15

To say that Bellatrix was upset at waking up tied to a chair with a broken nose was a gross understatement, if the angry yells, snarls, and demands was anything to go by.

Who would've thought that a smokescreen and a solid knock to the head was all it would take for me to incapacitate Bellatrix and bring her back to Little Whinging. It was funny how something as simple as a headbutt could be so effective.

What wasn't funny was the wandless casting she used to hit me from behind with the killing curse.

Curious as what she would do had that actually killed me, I dropped to the floor. She waited for about three seconds before laughing maniacally and making an attempt at removing her restraints.

I'd hidden her wand, hoping it would discourage escape attempts. Of course, that was before I knew she could cast the killing curse without a wand. Not knowing something as important as that only served to remind me that even though I knew most things, I didn't know everything.

She must have realized that the restraints weren't something that she could loosen by violently struggling. My trip to the muggle jail allowed me to get my hands on several of those metal handcuffs they used on me.

After several minutes of struggling, she screamed in frustration. I would have liked to have waited a little longer to see what followed the silence that followed her frustrated yell, but I couldn't hold back the snickers.

I slowly got up, much to her confused horror, and stood smiling as if the killing curse never even touched me.

"That, my dear Bella, was _quite_ rude."


	17. Chapter 16

The betrayed look on her face put a smile on mine. I knew who she was, what she'd done and what she was destined to do. So, if a woman like that crossed my path, how could I not do all that I could to get her like this.

Admittedly, it was great fun to get animated reactions out of people. Especially when they were completely opposite their usual selves.

What caused her to have the look of ultimate betrayal was the very long conversation she and I had just finished about a man born of a formerly known as Tom Marvolo Riddle. And I made sure to leave none of the juicy details out, either.

She denied my claims vehemently at first. She called me a liar, a blood traitor, and all the other nasty little terms the children of this day and age seemed to favor using.

But after telling and retelling to her the story of the 'Half-blood' who conned all the fanatic 'Purebloods' into thinking he was on their side, pointing out how he didn't care whether or not they lived or died so long as he was their Lord, and detailing what the future that same man had planned was…

Let's just say that by the end of it all she wasn't so infatuated with her beloved Dark Lord any longer. In fact, not only did she look ready to commit murder, actually _more_ murder, she was, albeit internally, ready and willing to commit herself to the next Big Bad.

Me.


	18. Chapter 17

"Now that you know all this…" Her head hung low in anger and sorrow. "What will you do? He knows Legilimency, of which I'm sure greatly overpowers your own Occlumency, so there's probably no chance of you surviving a meeting with him should he see that you know the truth of who he truly is."

A tiny voice responds. "I don't know." She sounded like a lost little girl. One who had no idea of how to move forward with anything.

Shit! Now I feel bad for her. Agh! I curse my compassion for women I plan to sleep with! I have no doubt that had the explosion not done so first, this flaw of mine would have done so just as well.

"Well, you can't exactly return to your life from before. You've been quite the little muggle murderer since you've joined him. Not to mention the ones who you deemed to be 'filthy blood traitors' and 'mudbloods'."

She shook her head depressingly. The betrayal of her former master was hitting her much harder than I originally thought it would. It even seemed to be manifesting in stages. First it was denial, then rage, now it's depression, and God knows what the next one'll be.

After that quick summary of her current situation, neither of us said anything for a while.

She, because her world just got turned upside down. And I, because I was patiently waiting to hear the question I knew was on her mind. A question, after considering everything that's happened in that demented little head of hers, she felt both hesitant and eager to ask.

It was like I said earlier, the mind was easily penetrated by someone whose Legilimency was superior to another's Occlumency.


	19. Chapter 18

Bellatrix was quick to abandon Voldemort, much to my joy. It seems his betrayal was enough of a crippling blow for her to seek the nearest source of stability. Me.

Which, I have to say, feels pretty damn good. I mean, it's no wonder Voldemort likes having her around. It had been all of 30 seconds before the woman began eager to please me. Not unwelcome, but definitely unwarranted.

And something that doesn't sit right with me.

Which is why I decided to start our new relationship with a clean slate. And to do so, Voldemort's influence must be removed. Starting with the Dark Mark his followers seem to enjoy wearing.

"Give me your arm." It was like magic how fast she was to 'hear and obey' my order. Kind of sad, too, if I'm being honest.

I placed my hand over her arm, covering the entirety of the Dark Mark and her forearm. "This'll hurt, a lot. But when it's over you'll feel better than you have in years." She nodded her head in understanding.

Despite the pain she was in, she seemed awfully keen on not letting it out. I could see her struggling to reign it all in. I also saw an opportunity.

"Let it out." She looked at me confusedly. "You're obviously in pain, so let it out. I'm not going to judge you for it. I've had more than my fair share of pain in life. So…let it out." There was some slight hesitation, but it quickly passed before her face finally twisted in pain.

Still keeping a firm grip on her arm, my other hand brought her head into my chest. Her tears soaked through my shirt and her pained screams, as muffled as they were, filled the air but never left the room.

As she nestled herself further into me, I couldn't help but notice that her tears and her screams were for two different kinds of pain. One being the physical pain of having a curse removed, and the other a deep emotional pain.

One that had been building up for years without her knowing.

But that really didn't matter. She could fall apart as many times as she had to, as long as she was with me, I would be there to pick up the pieces.


	20. Chapter 19

Bella has been staying with me in Little Whinging ever since that day I opened her eyes to the truth. Though, I have to say that while she was an excellent fighter, her skills in housework left a lot to be desired.

Once the Dark mark was gone her mental instability died down. It seemed that there were side effects of bearing the mark, one of which was insanity. There might have been others, but I'd worry about that later on.

Without it, she was only slightly obsessive. A trait that I was more than happy to be the target of. Because whether it was Voldemort or me or another witch or wizard, Bella needed _someone_ to obsess over.

And as much as I hate to admit it, the task I've been given is impossible to do alone. I need help just like Bella needs an anchor to keep her where she needs to be.

For the most part, she'd liked it here. The only real issues were that we were surrounded by muggles, living in a muggle built house, eating muggle food, and doing muggle things when we didn't have to.

Oh yeah, the intolerance for anything non-magical is still running strong within her. Not that I have any issues with it. When I was alive, the witches and wizards of my time were _hunted_ by them. So, if she had no love for them, then who was I to say otherwise.

Besides, my Bella was cute when she huffed and puffed over the little things.


	21. Chapter 20

Since I've spent the past year being an active member of the muggle community I live in, that meant Bella would need to put aside her issues with muggles and do the same.

She made a fuss over it at first, but had nothing to say once I gave her punishment. I didn't actually hurt her or anything, barbarism will get us nowhere, I just ignored her.

Facing my 'cold shoulder' response to her temper tantrum broke her resolve in minutes.

I honestly don't know what it is. I'm probably just a sadist when it comes down to it, but seeing her coming over to apologize to me with her tail between her legs was amusing.

Not in the sense that I like to see her do so, but more like in the sense that I could ever actually have that effect on someone. Especially a woman. A _good-looking_ woman, at that.

Before this, before my resurrection, I wasn't what one might call 'handsome'. What I looked like was exactly what you might expect someone from the 16th century to look like. I was skinny, pale, short, and physically very weak. Plus, I was old. So that didn't help much of anything.

I attributed it to the fact that I'd lived in a time where very few people, magicals included, managed to lead a life where they never went hungry and always stayed healthy.

Life was shit back then. The only thing that made it worth living were the people you knew and the good times you shared with them. Also the fact that prostitution didn't warrant your immediate arrest.

Because I mean, seriously, what the fuck is up with that?


End file.
